A blog by Alan Mammoser

Images of Calumet

In early spring 2007, Greg Lochow and I went out to make a couple short films in the Calumet area of southeast Chicago. One is about a missing link in a long regional bike path. The other tells of a ‘lost lake’ sealed off and hidden from the local community. In each we had to move through a complex geography, combining video with still shots to tell a story. We tried to draw out the key points of a complicated issue to convey a clear community goal. So we placed each story, each project, in the midst of its difficult setting, showing its promise for the revitalization of this rough post-industrial region.

For ‘Goin’ Up The Gap’ we were joined by bicycle advocate Steve Buchtel on his bike (he’s eyeing that milkshake at the end). For ‘The Lost Lake’ we had to engage in trespassing, which is a risky endeavor and really fun and interesting on the Southeast Side. Greg’s editing skills made sense of a mass of raw footage. Both takes were a blast.